Wall receptacle



G1. P. WIEDMAN WALL RECEPTACLE 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Aug 5, 1947 INVENTOR.

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BY/@My www@ G. P. WIEDMAN WALL vRECIPTACLJI 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 5, 1947 INVENTOR.

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ATTORNEYS.

Patented Nov. 28,` 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

6 Claims. 1

This invention relates to receptacles and more particularly to a receptacle mounted in a wall of a building for receiving mail and other articles which are insertable from one side of the wall and removable from the opposite side thereof.

it is the principal object of theinvention to provide a receptacle adapted to be mounted in a building wall, particularly an outside wall of a house, to receive mail and small packages which are insertable from the outside and removable from the inside of the wall.

Another object is to provide such a receptacle in which its contents cannot be readily removed from the side from which the articles were inserted thereby to prevent pilferage of the contents of the receptacle.

Another object is to provide such a receptacle which is weather-proof and which also prevents the transfer of heat from one side to the opposite side of the wall in which the receptacle is arranged.

Another object is to provide such a receptacle which can be fabricated of light-weight sheet metal.

A further object is to provide such a receptacle which can be readily mounted in the wall of a building.

A further object is to provide such a receptacle which is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, easily operable and not likely to get out of order or require repairs.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a fragmentary portion of a building wall and showing the receptacle embodying the present invention mounted therein.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 2 2, Fig. 1, and showing one side of the receptacle in elevation.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical transverse sectional view of the receptacle shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and showing the rear or inside door of the receptacle in an open position.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary elevation of the upper portion of the receptacle shown in Fig. 1 and showing the front doors of the receptacle in an open position.

Fig. 5 is a vertical transverse sectional view thereof taken generally on line 5 5, Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view thereof taken on line 6-6, Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken on line 1 1, Fig. 3.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged'fragmentary elevational view taken on line 8 8, Fig. 3.

The receptacle embodying the present invention is shown as having a box-like frame or body, represented generally by the numeral I0. This body I0 is shown as being formed of sheet metal and including side walls iI-l l, a top wall I2, a bottom wall I3 and a front wall lll. The rear of the body t is open and formed to provide a narrow marginal flange l5 which extends inwardly of the body parallel to the front wall I4. The upper portion of the front wall is cut out to provide a rectangular opening I6. A rectangular frame I8, each side of which is shown as being L-shaped in cross section is mounted in any suitable manner on the front wall i2 in such a position as to surround the opening I6 therein. 'I'he forwardly projecting continuous flange I9 of this frame i8 provides shoulders against which adjacent siding, bricks, shingles or other outside wall surface material of the building abuts.

Referring to Figs 1 and 2, the present receptacle is shown as mounted in an outside wall of a building. The body Ill is shown as being of such frontal width as to snugly t between :a pair of adjacent studs 2l of the building. Upper and lower horizontal support members 22 are interposed between the studs 2| and engage the top and bottom Walls I2, i3 respectively, of the body IIJ and thereby support the receptacle at the desired vertical location on the building wall. The exterio1` of this building wall is shown as being faced with clapboards 2li which are so out as to abut the flange I9 of the rectangular frame I8 on the front of the receptacle. In this manner the front of the receptacle is substantially flush with the exterior of the wall although it will be understood that the front of the box can be recessed inwardly of the wall, such as when the wall is faced with brick or stone.

It will be noted that the vertical sides of the frame I8 extend laterally beyond the sides of the body ID, the exposed rear faces of these vertical sides thereby providing stop surfaces 24 which engage the front faces of the studs and prevent the receptacle from being moved farther into the wall. Also with substantial portions of the clapboards 23` overlapping the front wall Il, the receptacle is held against movement outwardly of the building wall.

It will also be noted that only that portion of the front of the receptacle surrounded by the frame I8 is shown as being exposed. If desired, the frame I8 can be constructed with a larger vertical distance between the upper and lower horizontal sides of this eine so that any desired amount of surface of the front wall lli of the receptacle can be exposed.

Referring again to the construction of the receptacle, the open rear end of the box-like bodi7 or frame lil is covered by a hood 25 which is preferably formed of sheet metal to provide a rear Wall 26, side walls 2l2'i, and an attaching flange 28 which extends contnuously around the edge of the hood. The hood 25 is removably mounted on the body i@ and for this purpose the flange 28 of the hood is shown as opposing the flange I on the body and secured thereto by screws 29 or in any other suitable manner.

The lower part of the rear wall 25 of the hood 25 is provided with an opening 3i) to permit access to the interior of the box'like body iii and to remove the contents therefrom. This opening 3G preferably extends across the full width of the rear wall 25 of the hood 25. A door 3l hinged along its lower edge to the hood 25 in any suitable manner serves as a closure for the opening 3B. The door Si carries latch means for securing the door in a closed position, such latch means being shown as comprising a latch bar S2 on the inner end of a pivot rod 33 extending through the upper part of the door 3l and a handle 3Q on the outer end of the pivot rod 35. By turning the handle 5ft it will be seen that the pivotally mounted latch bar 32 can be turned into and out of engagement with a marginal portion of the rear wall 26 of the hood 25, as shown in Fig. 5.

To inhibit the transfer of heat from opposite sides of the rear wall 25 the same is preferably lined with sheet insulating material 35 such as cork or the like, this insulation being shown as also extending between the connected flanges i5 and 23. The inside of the rear door 3l is also faced with similar sheet insulating material as shown at 36.

It will be noted that the rear wall 26 of the hood 25 is arched rearwardly so as to house a substantially triangular space in vertical cross section. The space housed by the rear wall .26 of the hood 25 jointly with the interior of the box like body or frame i e provide a compartment 3l in the upper part of which a bucket shaped receiver indicated generally at 33 is arranged.

The receiver 33 is adapted to receive mail and other small packages inserted through the opening l@ in the front wall le of the body li! and when thereafter actuated deposits or dumps these articles into the lower part of the compartment 3l. To this end the receiver 33 is shown as being formed of sheet metal into generally C-shaped form in vertical cross section, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5, and having a front upper panel 33, a lower panel lil and an intermediate back panel 4|. It will be noted that the upper and lower panels 39 and Lili, respectively, are arranged at an angle to each other and are forwardly conn vergently directed so that when the upper panel 3Q is in a vertical position the lower panel lil is remote from the front wall ld and extends downwardly and forwardly, as shown in Fig. 3, and when the lower panel Si is in a horizontal position adjacent the front wall lll, the upper panel 39 projects forwardly and downwardly through the opening le, as shown in Fig. 5. In this manner the upper panel 59 can serve as a closure member for the upper part of the opening i5 in the front wall le. A side panel or end wall i2 is provided on each end of the receiver 3&3.

To permit this movement of the receiver 58, means are provided for pivotally mounting the receiver on the body or :iframe lo. For this purpose, each end wall d2 of the receiver is pivotally mounted on the adjacent side wall Il of the body le by a bearing assembly. Such bearing assembly is shown as comprising a bearing cup a second bearing cup of slightly smaller diameter rotatably received thereby, and a connesting bolt G5. The bearing cup "i3 is shown as arranged on the exterior of the corresponding end wall :l2 adjacent its upper part and secured against rotation relative to this end wall by an arm i6 which extends substantially parallel to the front upper panel 39 of the receiver and has its extremity reversely bent to hook around theiront edge of this end wall, as indicated at t3. The base of the second bearing cup lill is shown as secured to the inside of the corresponding side wall l l of the body l@ by a pair of screws The connecting bolt e5 is arranged in registered openings provided in the corresponding side wall ii, cups e3 and and end wall L52, nuts 5i. being shown as arranged on the inner end of the bolt d5. to maintain the same in position. By a bearing assembly of this construction the receiver 33 can be readily assembled in the body i i and also provides a substantial bearing surface. The axes of these bearing assemblies are coincident so that the receiver can be moved about a horizontal axis.

The lower portion of the opening I6 in the front wall if, of the body l@ is adapted to be closedV off by a lower front door 5l which extends across the full longitudinal width of the opening iii; This door 5l is shown as being hinged along its lower horizontal edge to the front wall I4 in any suitable manner, as indicated at 52. The upper horizontal edge of this door 5| is formed to provide a rearwardly offset lip` 53 adapted to cooperate with the reversely bent lower edge 54 of the upper front panel 39 of the receiver 33, as shown in Fig. 3, thereby to provide an` effective seal along this joint.

Means are provided to seal the joints between the vertical edges of the front upper panel 39 and the lower front door 5l and they cooperating vertical edges of the front wall I4. To this end the outer portion of the lower front door 5l is laterally extended along each vertical edge and formed to provide a reversely bent L-shaped ange 55, the laterally extending part of which @verlies a rearwardly offset flange 55 formed on the corresponding vertical edge of the front wall ill of the body it, a sealing strip 58 of cork or other suitable material being interposed between the cooperating faces of the flanges 55 and 5B- and carried hy the flange 55, as shown in Fig. 7. Similarly, the outer portion of the upper front panel 38 of the receiver 33 is laterally extended along each vertical edge to provide a lateral flange 5:3 which opposes and overlies the corresponding flange 55 on the front wall il! ofthe body Ill, a sealing strip Se similar to the strip 58 being carried by the flange 5e and engageable with the flange 56. It will be noted that the flanges 55 on the lower front door 5l terminate short of the hinged connection 52 of the door, and the lateral flanges 5S on the upper front panel 39 are provided only along the outer edges of this panel so that these flanges 55 and 59 will not interfere with the flanges 56 when the panel is raised and the lower front door 5l is opened.

A handle 5l is provided on the outside of the front upper panel Se to facilitate manual manipulation of the receiver 3d. When the receiver 38 iS ,mQVed to the article receiving position shown in Fig. 5, the lower front door 5I is moved from its vertical closed position to a substantially horin zontal forwardly projecting open position such as shown in Fig. 5. For this purpose, a link 62 connecting the receiver 38 with the door 5I is provided on each side of this door. One end of each link 62 is shown as pivoted at 63 to the corresponding iiange 55 of the door 5I and the opposite end is pivoted at 84 to the corresponding end wall 42 of the receiver 38, the pivot 54 being at a higher elevation than the pivot 63. A portion of each end wall 4i! adjacent the corresponding link 62 is shown as being offset inwardly of the receiver as indicated at '55 thereby to accommod-ate the movement of the links 62. It will thus be seen that with the receiver 38 and lower front door 5| in the position shown in Fig. 3, by lifting the handle 6l the receiver 33 is rotated in a clockwise direction and the door 5l in a counterclockwise direction to the position shown in Fig. 5. In this position of the parts shown in Fig. 5, mail, small packages and other articles can be inserted through the uncovered opening IG and placed on the floor or lower panel li!) of the receiver, this panel 4l! being horizontal in this position and substantially in line with the opened lower front door 5l. Thereafter the handle 6I is pulled down whereby the receiver 38 is rotated in a counterclookwise direction and the door 5| in a clockwise position from the position Shown in Fig. 5 to the position shown in Fig. 3. In so moving the receiver 33, the lower panel 40 supporting the inserted articles is moved to the rear away from the front wall Il! and tilted or tipped so that the articles are dumped into the lower part of the compartment 3l' from which they can be removed through the opening 38 by opening the rear door 3 l.

Means are provided for locking the receiver in the position shown in Fig. 3 so that the receiver 38 and lower front door 5I cannot be opened to give access to the interior of the receptacle. For this purpose, the rear wall 26 of the hood 25 carries a latch comprising a latch bar (58 on the inner end oi a pivot pin de extending through the rear Wall 26 and a turn handle on the rear or outer end of this pivot pin. Referring to Fig. 8, the latch bar 68, when in the horizontal position shown by broken lines in this figure, is adapted to enter an opening 'iii provided in the adjacent part of the back panel 13| of the receiver 38 and be turned to the full line position shown to engage a latch plate il carried by the back panel lll adjacent one side of the opening l therein. The latch plate 'Il is shown as being formed to provide a pair of horizontally spaced rearwardly projecting rounded protrusions 12--12 forming a land i3 therebetween which engages the latch bar 68. Thus the land 'i3 is slightly flexibly mounted and when engaged by the latch bar 68 serves to hold the receiver 38 in a rmly latched immovable position and also prevents the latch bar from being casually or unintentionally displaced.

It will be noted that even with the receiver 33 in an unlatched condition it is diflicult for a person to insert his hand and arm through the opening H5 in the front Wall lli and reach down into the bottom of the compartment 31 inasmuch as the front upper panel 39 of the receiver 38 and the front lower door actuated in response to the movement thereof would have to be separated a substantial extent and hence bring the forward edge of the lower panel l0 close to the front wall I4. Pilferage of the contents of the receptacle can be further prevented by providing the free edge of the lower panel 4l! with serrations (not shown) which will engage the persons hand or arm and thereby deter further attempts to remove the contents.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the present invention provides a wall receptacle of simple and inexpensive construction which permits mail and small articles to be inserted from one side of the wall and removed from the opposite side and which cannot be readily pilfered. Further, the receptacle can be easily installed in a wall either in the original construction of the wall or after the wall has been erected.

I claim:

l. A receptacle for receiving mail and small packages and adapted to be mounted in a wall, comprising a box-like body having a front wall provided with an opening therein and a rear wall provided with an opening therein, a door for said second opening, a receiver arranged within said body adjacent said rst opening, means pivotally mounting said receiver on said body, said receiver having a panel adapted to close off and uncover the upper portion of said first opening, a second door operatively arranged to close oi and uncover the lower portion of said rst opening, and means operatively connecting said second door to said receiver whereby said second door is moved in response to the movement of said receiver.

2. A receptacle for receiving mail and small packages and adapted to be mounted in a wall, comprising a box-like body having a front wall provided with an opening in the upper part thereof and a rear wall provided with an opening in the lower part thereof, a door for said second opening, a receiver arranged within said body adjacent said irst opening, means pivotally mounting said receiver on said body so as to be movable about a horizontal axis, said receiver having a panel adapted to close off and uncover the upper portion of said opening and also having la second panel adapted to receive and dump said mail and small packages inserted through said rst openf ing, a second door movable about a horizontal axis and adapted to close orf and uncover the lower portion of said rst opening, and a link pivotally connected to said receiver and to said second door whereby said second door is moved in response and in an opposite direction to the movement of said receiver.

3. A receptacle for receiving mail and small packages and adapted to be mounted in a wall, comprising a box-like body having a front wall provided with an opening in the upper part thereof and a rear wall provided with. an opening in the lower part thereof, a door for said second opening, a receiver arranged within said body adjacent said rst opening, means pivotally mounting said receiver on said body so as to be movable about a horizontal axis, said receiver having spaced upper and lower panels arranged at an angle to each other whereby said lower panel is in a tilted position remote from said front wall when said receiver has been moved so that said upper panel is in a position closing off said upper portion of said first opening and whereby said lower panel is in a substantially horizontal position adjacent said front Wall when said receiver has been moved so that said upper panel is in a position uncovering said upper portion of said rst opening, a second door movable about a horizontal axis and adapted to close off and uncover the lower portion of said first opening, and a link pivotally connected to said receiver and to said second door whereby said second door is moved in response and in an opposite direction to the movement of said receiver.

4. A receptacle for receiving mail and small packages and adapted to be mounted in a wall, comprising a box-like body having a front wall provided with an opening in the upper part thereof and a rear wall provided with an opening in the lower part thereof, a door for said second opening, a receiver arranged within said body adjacent said rst opening, means pivotally mounting said receiver on said body so as to be movable about a horizontal axis, said receiver having spaced upper and lower panels arranged at an angle to each other whereby said lower panel is in a tilted position remote from said front wall when said receiver has been moved so that said upper panel is in a position closing off said upper portion of said rst opening and whereby said lower panel is in a substantially horizontal position adjacent said front wall when said receiver has been moved so that said upper panel is in a position uncovering said upper portion of said rst opening, a second door hinged along the lower edge of said first opening and movable from a vertical position closing off the lower portion of said rs't opening to a substantially horizontal forwardly projecting position in which said first opening is uncovered, and a link on each side of said second door and pivotally connected to said second door and to said receiver whereby said upper panel and said second door cooperates to open and close said first opening.

5. A receptacle for receiving mail and small packages and adapted to be mounted in a wall, comprising a box-like body having a vertical front wall provided with an opening in the upper part thereof and a rear wall providedV with an opening in the lower part thereof, a door for said second opening, a bucket shaped receiver for re ceiving said mail and small packages inserted through said rst opening and dumping the same into the lower part of such body from whence they can be removed through said second opening, means pivotally mounting said receiver within saidbody adjacent said rst opening, said receiver having spaced upper and lower panels angularly arranged to each other and forwardly convergently directed, said upper panel being adapted to close off and uncover the upper portion of said first opening, a second door operatively arranged to close off and uncover the lower portion of said first opening, and means operatively connecting said second door to said receiver whereby said second door is moved in response to the movement of said receiver.

6. A receptacle for receiving mail and small packages and adapted to be mounted in a wall,

comprising a box-like body having a vertical front wall provided with an opening in the upper part thereof and a rear wall provided with an opening in the lower part thereof, a door for said second opening, a bucket shaped receiver for receiving said mail and small packages inserted through said iirst opening and dumping the same into the lower part of such body from whence they can be removed through said second opening, said receiver having spaced upper and lower panels angularly arranged to each other and forwardly convergentiy directed, a back wall connecting said panels and an end wall on each of said receiver, means pivotally mounting the upper part of each of said end walls on the adjacent one of said side walls whereby said receiver is oscillatable about a horizontal axis, said upper panel being adapted to close off and uncover the upper portion of said first opening, a second door hinged along the lower edge of said rst opening and movable from a vertical position closing olf the lower portion of said rst opening to a substantially horizontal forwardly projecting position in which said rst opening is uncovered, and a link pivotally connecting each of said end walls with said second door whereby said upper panel and said second door cooperate to open and close said rst opening.

GEORGE P. WIEDMAN.

No references cited. 

